My Last Breath

My Last Breath

I arrived home around 2 am. I was still a little buzzed from margaritas, and a few hits off a blunt. I had been at a gathering at my friend Coleba’s house. As the midnight hour approached, we began telling ghost stories. I had sat back against a pile of oversized pillows, and let the mood wash over me. I loved a good ghost story! My friend Jess was recounting a story from when he was a kid. His voice was low, and began swaying through the story like a brewing storm. The room was quiet as he spoke, but I could almost hear every bump in the night, malicious whisper, and distant scratches on the window as he continued. My heart was pounding by the time he let out a loud frightening moan, and yelled “Boo”! We all jumped, startled by the sudden break from quiet ghostly anticipation. I laughed along with the others, but I was a little disappointed that there was no ghostly ending, no evil apparition that haunted his memory still.

Now as I sat in my car, surrounded by heavy darkness, I was a little relieved there was no evil apparition’s shadow of possibility following me home. I lit a cigarette, and looked at my house. It was an old Victorian that had seen better days. I had loved it when I first moved in, infatuated by its tattered charm. But now it felt like a burden, as if I were living in the belly of an unwelcoming, malevolent host. It seemed to stare back at me with dark anger, as if it read my mind. Just then, I thought I saw a shadow dart past an upstairs window. It happened so quickly, I questioned if I really even saw it. There it was again! This time the shadow stood eerily still against the dusty window. I couldn’t help but think it was the house manifested into a ghostly creature. There were no features, just a frightening darkness quietly waiting to wrap itself around me, to suffocate me to death with its contempt.

Suddenly I felt a threatening presence as I sat in my car. I could actually feel a sensation of looming death spread across my body, my skin tingled in fear, making its way to my face as every hair on my body stood up in fright. I sat frozen in my seat, unable to move, the heaviness of fear weighing me down, I could actually feel it pressing against my chest as I struggled to move. The shadow at the upstairs window watched unmoving as I tried to scream. I felt a hand pressing against my shoulder as it moved to my throat, lightly caressing my neck, taunting me with evil pleasure.

“I want to give you your spooky ending” I heard a low voice say. Jess’s face loomed into sight through the rearview mirror as he brought his other hand to my throat. His face was contorted in sadistic pleasure as he began to tighten his grip. I tried to fight back, but darkness swirled around me, pinning me down. Before my eyes closed, I saw the shadow standing beside the window of my car, silently urging Jess to squeeze harder. I felt myself slipping away, my body going slack. As I began to free fall into eternal darkness, I heard the shadow laughing maniacally. Jess began laughing too, and pressed his damp face against my mine, his sweat mingling with my tears. I could still hear them laughing as the darkness engulfed me forever.